Country artist Kenny Chesney's epic chart topping hit about high school football, "Boys of Fall" has a verse that rings in my soul every time I hear the song:
"I've got your number, I've got your back, when your back's against the wall. You mess with one man, you got us all..."
When you are part of a team, everyone watches out for each other, but in the business world too many people feel they are all alone. They want that feeling of "team", but they do not sense that it exists within their network of professional contacts.
The realities of the economy over the last few years means that back's ARE pushed against the wall. Some people have amazing personal support groups, but few believe they have a real network of business connections who are looking out for their best interests.
How about you?.... Whose got your back when your back is against the wall? Is there a team of people who say "if you mess with one man (or woman), you got us all"?
The best way to cultivate a group of people willing to block and tackle for you is to be the person who does that for others. The pressures we all face make it is easy to get caught up with self focused actions. Even the most well-meaning can miss opportunities to help those in their network.
I talk to people who have great intentions to serve others. They even think they are being an active resource because they want to be a good "partner" to those in their inner circle. But "wanting" to do something and actually "doing" something are two different things. Philosophically understanding that you should be a person who finds ways to impact others is not enough.
Dr. Stephen Covey had it right in his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" with this description of an "Emotional Bank Account". Before you can make withdrawals you must first make deposits. Too many people show up in their business community when they are in need of help and ask for favors. They expect their network to uncover opportunities (or otherwise "have their back"), but they have been playing for the other team the whole time.
I am fortunate because I do have people who are watching out for me. Most of my business comes directly from referrals. These people on my "team" refer me to their companies and professional organizations to speak at sales meetings, users conferences, conventions and other events where I can serve the keynote speaker, breakout trainer, or master of ceremonies. These same people give me constructive feedback and marketing ideas that help me grow my business.
And I do the same thing for them.
If you want a team, appoint yourself as "team captain" and bring together a group of people who are willing to put in the effort to construct a "club" with a high level of support.
And remember, as the song says: "They didn't let just anyone in that club, took every ounce of heart and sweat and blood" (That means not just anyone makes your team... they have to earn it!)
Have A Great Day
thom
Showing posts with label collaboration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label collaboration. Show all posts
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Collaboration Is The "New New Thing"
2010 is being predicted to be "The Year of Collaboration". The social media exerts are ringing the praises of this emerging area of sharing and creating as a new dawning of the ages.
The buzz around Google Wave and other tools that promote the ability for folks to openly share their projects and get useful input and feed back into their work is exciting.... but is it really a sociological sea change?
Some things lend themselves to an open source model, other things do not. Some people are open to sharing, others are not. Without the right connections and reputation, none of the tools will matter to the random user wanting input. The power here goes back to your network, brand, reputation and ability to create community. We will see the "Collaboration Elite" emerge much like we have seen the celebrities on Twitter and other social media platforms.
I believe the attention on the collaboration movement is more about the cool tools and the super-users than it is about the projects that will come from the collaborations. The process will work well for those who live and breath social media (but it already does work for those people) .... but will not flow quickly beyond those who are early adopters. Many in the greater business community are still avoiding the social media tools (the 2009 buzzy flavor of the month) and making excuses as to why they they will not use LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter... they are hardly ready to join a mass collaboration movement (thus it will be fun and useful for those who are the social media gurus and mass users...and it will give them new things to talk about... but this not an change in society).
The best of the best have always collaborated with others (regardless of industry). The tools were not the sexy part, instead the creating of something bigger than the individuals could have ever done alone was the "wow" part. This is hardly new.
Also, open collaboration is a great concept when all the players are share the same morals when it comes to the "rising tide raises all boats" concepts... but there is still the need to monetize projects,.... and greed (and selfish people) will not disappear in the new year.
Part of this becoming the "hot topic" is that there is always a need for a "hot topic". Bloggers cannot keep writing about Twitter and Facebook in the new year .... as these have been done to death.
"Collaboration" is the new new thing. But is it?
Have A Great Day
thom
The buzz around Google Wave and other tools that promote the ability for folks to openly share their projects and get useful input and feed back into their work is exciting.... but is it really a sociological sea change?
Some things lend themselves to an open source model, other things do not. Some people are open to sharing, others are not. Without the right connections and reputation, none of the tools will matter to the random user wanting input. The power here goes back to your network, brand, reputation and ability to create community. We will see the "Collaboration Elite" emerge much like we have seen the celebrities on Twitter and other social media platforms.
I believe the attention on the collaboration movement is more about the cool tools and the super-users than it is about the projects that will come from the collaborations. The process will work well for those who live and breath social media (but it already does work for those people) .... but will not flow quickly beyond those who are early adopters. Many in the greater business community are still avoiding the social media tools (the 2009 buzzy flavor of the month) and making excuses as to why they they will not use LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter... they are hardly ready to join a mass collaboration movement (thus it will be fun and useful for those who are the social media gurus and mass users...and it will give them new things to talk about... but this not an change in society).
The best of the best have always collaborated with others (regardless of industry). The tools were not the sexy part, instead the creating of something bigger than the individuals could have ever done alone was the "wow" part. This is hardly new.
Also, open collaboration is a great concept when all the players are share the same morals when it comes to the "rising tide raises all boats" concepts... but there is still the need to monetize projects,.... and greed (and selfish people) will not disappear in the new year.
Part of this becoming the "hot topic" is that there is always a need for a "hot topic". Bloggers cannot keep writing about Twitter and Facebook in the new year .... as these have been done to death.
"Collaboration" is the new new thing. But is it?
Have A Great Day
thom
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